Post-Production Diaries:
Director Peter Jackson takes you on an unforgettable journey revealing
virtually every aspect of post-production with nearly three hours of
exclusive behind the scenes footage.

Kong's New York, 1933 -
1930s New York comes alive in this fascinating piece that explores
vaudeville, the skyscraper boom, the construction of the Empire State
building and more.

Skull Island: A Natural
History - Travel to treacherous Skull Island with Peter Jackson and his
crew

The Volkswagen Toureg & King
Kong

Wish You Were Here

Post-Production Diaries:
Director Peter Jackson takes you on an unforgettable journey revealing
virtually every aspect of post-production with nearly three hours of
exclusive behind the scenes footage.

Kong's New York, 1933 -
1930s New York comes alive in this fascinating piece that explores
vaudeville, the skyscraper boom, the construction of the Empire State
building and more.

Skull Island: A Natural
History - Travel to treacherous Skull Island with Peter Jackson and his
crew

Movie:
Disc:

With so many hefty multiple disc DVD special editions
flooding the market, it is not uncommon nowadays to spend more time
watching the bonus making of features on such a disc than watching the
movie itself.

This is the case on this two-disc widescreen edition: no
mean feat when one considers that King
Kong (the movie) itself clocks in at more than three hours! With a
total running time of 213 minutes, you'll spend more time watching the
various documentaries, production diaries and other features on this
disc than on director Peter Jackson of Lord of the
Rings fame's already overlong flick.

Both exhaustive -
and exhausting
- the
so-called production diaries are short snippets made during Kong's
lengthy post-filming production focusing on various aspects technical
aspects of the film. At about 158 minutes they make up the bulk of the
special features. As far as such making of features go they are probably
the most accurate ones I have ever seen in presenting the sheer effort,
scale and logistics that go into making a multi-million dollar special
effects heavy blockbuster.

Making of features
usually feature on the filming itself: the stars standing in front of
green screen sets, etc. However, the post-filming production process
-
adding special effects, sound effects, soundtrack music, editing, etc.
-
in making a movie like King Kong
nowadays take up much more time than the actual filming. It was this
process that the newly thin director Peter Jackson wanted to carry across
with these production diaries. And they succeed amiably: after watching
them all you'll feel as if you yourself have actually worked on the movie
as a crewmember!

In addition to the
production diaries, there are two lengthy documentaries rounding out the
discs, namely Kong's New York (38 minutes long) and Skull Island: A
Natural History (17 minutes).

A historical look at
depression era New York, Kong's New York is easily the better of the two
features especially if you're interested in history. The documentary
features all kinds of historical facts that the film's writers unearthed
while doing research for the screenplay. Shanty towns in Central Park!
Cops violently putting down anti-Capitalist street riots! Who could have
guessed?

Skull Island: A Natural
History is a mockumentary detailing some of the thinking that went into
creating the mythical island and its many denizens - both human and
non-human.

WORTH IT? A
mixture between Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park at times, this King
Kong is a rousing adventure. This outsized DVD is tailored to fit and
if DVDs are all about entertainment and thrills, then King Kong 2-Disc
Widescreen Special Edition is the reason they invented those shiny
little discs we so love. Easily one of the best DVDs of the year thus
far...

RECOMMENDATION:
Buy it!

NOTE: Did director
Peter Jackson lose some weight! In these featurettes the man known for
being as corpulent as Francis Ford Coppola is positively thin! If he
didn't command $20 million salaries (what he got paid for directing
King Kong) he can always make a living writing diet books . . .